File cutting machine



- Feb. 11, 1947. M. A. HESS FILE CUTTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 8, '1945 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR MAM/m AHESS M 114% A TTORNEY Feb. 11, 1947.

M. A. HESS FILE CUTTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 8, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOH Mama A a 5% BY ,Q WWa A TTOHNE Y Feb. 11, 1947. A, E

FILE CUTTING MACHINE Fil ed Dec. 8, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ARWN A.HES5 gfflo; W4,

A TTORNE Y Patented Feb. 11, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FILE UTTIN G MACHINE Marvin A. Hess, East Lansdowne, Pa.

Application December 8, 1945, Serial No. 633,723

' 2 Glaims. 1

My invention relates to a file-cutting machine of the type in which a blank is subjected to the action of a reciprocating chisel, while it is continually moving, whereby properly spaced grooves of the desired depth are produced.

One object of the invention is to produce an improved machine of this type.

In file-cutting machines of this type, it is necessary that the action of the chisel on the blank. be arrested immediately when a predetermined point on the blank has been reached, so as to predetermine the length of the effective area of the file, and it is, therefore, a further object of the invention to produce improved means for accomplishing this purpose.

Also, because the blanks taper from one end thereof to the other, it is necessary to provide means for varying the impact of the chisel according to the changing width of. the moving strip so as to produce grooves-of uniform depth throughout the efiective portion of the finished file.

It is, therefore, a still further object of the inventi-on toproduce improved means for insuring uniformity of the depth of the grooves formed in the blank regardlessof variations in the width thereof. 1

A still further object of the invention is to produce improved means for varying the impact of the chisel whereby blanks of a wide range of widths may be cut by thesame machine.

These and other objects areattained by my invention as set forth in the following specification and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a frontelevation of a file-cutting machine embodying my invention, showing the chisel in its lower or cutting position, certain parts being omitted and certain parts broken oil.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary View, partly in section and partly in elevation, taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the chisel raisedto its upper, ineffective position.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section on line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section on line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary view on line 'I--'! of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a right-hand elevational view of Fig. 4.

In the drawings-there is shown a file-cutting machine. including. a pedestal H] which supports 2 a. bedplate H- and a housing I2 on which a re-' ciprocatingv chisel i3 is mounted. Thechisel i3 is carried by ahead l4 which is provided with a rear slot l5. adapted to engage one end of. a pivoted. lever 55,. the other end. of which is intermittently engaged by the spaced teeth. ofa rotating disc ii. The discv ii is mounted on a shaft 18 which is driven by any source of power, such as a belt iii on a shift pulley 29'. As the disc ii is rotatedinclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 4, it rocks the lever Eton its pivot,- thu's raising and lowering the chisel head. 54 to produce a hammering action of the chisel E3 on a blank M to be cut. The blank 2! is supported on a slide 22 which has a rounded bottom bearing surface and is self-aligning in a correspondingly rounded groove formed in the bedplate H.

The slide 22 is provided with an extension 23. which passes between. and is engaged by a pair of pinch rolls 2%, which rotate in such a manner so as to draw the extension 2-3 and the slide 22 to the right as viewedin Fig. 1. The pinch rolls 24. are drivenin any suitable manner, as by means of gears 25, at least one of which is. actuated by a source of power in any well-known manner which need not be detailed.

The other end of the slide 221s connected to one end. of a screw 2&3; the other end of which is pivoted'to the upper end of a lever 21'. The screw 26" is adjusted by a nut 28so as to regulate thedistance' to which the slide 22" can be moved to the left as viewed in Fig. 1. The other end of the lever 27 issecured' to a shaft which also carriesa gear 29 so that, as the arm 27' moves in onedirection'or'the other, the gear 29 rotates accordingly. The gearZS" meshes with a gear 39- on' a shaft 3 i; which alsocarries'a cam 32 for progressively increasing the stroke and hence the impactof the-chisel. This will be best understood by inspection ofFigs. 2 and" 3; from which it will be'seen thatthelever Wispivoted to the upper end. of a plate 35, the lowerend of which isprovided with a seat 36- for engaging ahump 31 atone end of a lever 33 which is fulcrumed at 39. Theother end of the lever 38 is engaged by a lugllc which threadedly engages an adjustment'screw' d]. The screw 45 carries a roller 42 which. rides onthe'cam 32; As theroller 42 rides on the high portions of. the cam .32, the screw GI and the lug 49 are. raised, thus tilting the lever 38 in counterclockwise direction and correspondingly raising the platez35 whichrides on the hump 35: This .rai'sesethe pivot point of the lever Hiand, hence; the head- M which car'- ries the chisel i3. Raisingzthe chiselain'cr'eases the length of its stroke and, hence, its efiective impact on the blank. The cam 32 is so related to the slide 22 that, when the slide is in its extreme left-hand position, the roller 42 rides on the lowest portion of the cam and the chisel moves through its shortest stroke. The blank is so positioned that its narrow end is now under the chisel. As the slide 22 moves to the right as viewed in Fig. land the Wider portions or" the blank come under thechisel, the cam 32 is rotated and the roller 52 rides on progressively higher portions of the cam and thus progressively increases the impact of the chisel as the length of the grooves to be cut is increased to insure that the longer grooves will be of the same depth as the shorter ones.

The pinch rolls 24 are clamped frictionally onto the extension 23 of the blank supporting slide 22 by means of a spring 45 engaging a bolt 56. In order to be able to return the slide 22 to its extreme left-hand position, it is necessary to raise the arm 41 which carries the upper roller 24 and which is pivoted to the bedplate at 48. The manner in which this is done will be later explained.

The stroke of the chisel can also be varied manually and without reference to the cam 32 by turning the screw 4| by means of a suitable handwheel 50 to raise or lower the lug :10. The blank 2i is clamped in position on the slide 22 by means of a yielding finger 51. The head l4 reciprocates between a plate 52 and the adjacent face of the housing l2, and is guided by means of a screw 53 engaging a slot 54 in the lower portion of the plate 52.

The cam 32 is sufficient to adjust the stroke of the chisel to produce uniform grooves in blanks of a given length and width. However, in order to increase the range of usefulness of the machine, I have so located the cam and the parts operated thereby as to be able to remove the cam and replace it, with a smaller or larger one, or with one of a difierent shape without dismantling any other part. As will be seen from Fig. 6, the cam can be removed by merely disengaging the retaining nut which holds it in position, and the roller 42 is then adjusted by turning the screw 4| so as to ride on a new, larger or smaller cam.

In order to cause the action of the chisel on the blank to cease when the desired portion of the blank has been cut, I provide a plate 55 which is secured by a screw 5? engaging one of a series of adjustment holes 58 (Fig. 7) in a bar 75 secured to, and movable with, the slide 22. The plate 58 is provided with a wedge-shaped portion 59 which is adapted to engage a corresponding nose portion 56 of an arm 5 l.

The arm Bl is pivoted at 52 to a lever 63 which will be later referred to. The arm BI is provided with a flat portion which, is adapted to be engaged by the under side of a collar 54 on the chisel. When the slide 22 and the blank 2| have moved to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, to a point predetermined by the position of the plate 56 relative to the chisel, the wedge-shaped portion 59 abuts and raises the pendent portion (ill of the arm Bl, thus engaging and raising the collar 65 and, hence, the chisel l3, out of contact with the blank. By this arrangement, the continuously-reciprocating chisel is rendered inefiective because it is out of reach of the blank. By proper adjustment of the plate 56, the length of the portion of the, blank to be cut is determined automatically and with accuracy.

When it is desired to release the pinch rolls 24 so as to permit retraction of the slide 22 to its starting position, or to the left as viewed in- Fig. 1, a foot pedal (not shown) is depressed so as to raise the arm 66. This may be done in any conventional manner and is, therefore, not shown. The arm 66, being pivoted at 61 to the left-hand end 68 of the lever 63, causes the lever 63 to rotate about its pivot 62a, and causes the right-hand end of the lever to move downwardly to engage and depress an arcuate lever '10 pivoted at H and provided with a pin or projection 12. The pin 12 engages a rod 73 carried by the adjacent endof the arm 31 to raise the latter against the action of the spring l5. This moves the upper roll 24 away from the lower roll, whereupon the slide 22 is pulled to the left to the extent permitted by adjustment of the nut 28 on the screw 25. The slide 22 is provided with a handle 14 (Fig. '7) carried by a hub I5 at the left-hand. end of the slide. Raising of the lefthand end 68 of the lever 63 also causes the lever El to engage and raisethe collar 64 and hence the chisel 13. Therefore, as long as the foot pedal is depressed to elevate the upper pinch roll 24, the chisel will be kept in a raised position, out of reach of the blank to be out, even though the slide 22 has been retracted to the left, or starting position, and even though the Wedge-shaped portion 59 is out of engagement with the pendant nose portion 59 of the lever 5!. It will thus be seen that the wedge-shaped portion 59 serves to elevate the chisel at the end of the cutting operation and that elevation of the end 68-of the lever serves to disengage the upper pinch roll from the extension 23 of the blank-carrying slide, and also serves to hold the chisel in an upper non-cutting position while the finished blank is removed and a new blank is positioned on the slide. It will be noted that, when the foot pedal is depressed, the finger 5| is also raised out of contact with the blank.

The position of the pendant portion 50 of the lever Si is controlled by an adjustable set screw 55 which engages the left-hand end of the lever 6|. In other words, if the screw 65 is turned in a direction to depress the left-hand end of the lever 6|, the nose portion 68 thereof will be raised and Vice versa.

Operation The blank to be cut is placed on the slide 22 with its narrower end approximately as shown in Fig. 1, so that the point at which the cutting is. to begin will be immediately below the chisel. The chisel is then set in motion and the foot lever is released, thus raising the right-hand end of the lever 63 to relieve the pressure on the arcuate plate i8. This permits the spring 45 to brin the upper rotating roller 24 into engagement with the extension 23 of the slide 50 that the rollers 24! begin moving the slide and the blank, to the right, past the reciprocating chisel. It will be understood that, at the beginning of the cutting operation, and before the machine is set in motion, the roller 42 will ride on the lowest portion of the cam 32 as shown in Fig. 2. Also, at the beginning of the operation, the plate 55 is so adjusted relative to the slide and the blank that the nose portion 59 will engage the pendent portion 6%] of the plate and raise it into engagement with the collar 6 t, so as to raise the chisel out of reach of the blank, as soon as the left-hand limit of the area to be cut on the blank has been reached. When the cutting operation is completed, the foot pedal (not shown) is depressed, thus causing the right-hand end of the lever 83 to be depressed into engagement with the arcuate plate 10 to disengage the upper roller 24 from the extension 23 of the slide. The slide is then retracted by means of the handle 14, the cut blank is removed, and a new blank to be cut is placed on the slide to repeat the operation. It will be noted that retraction of the slide moves the lever 2'! to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, and thus resets the cam 32 relative to the roller 42. The movement of the slide 22 to the left is limited by the position of the nut 28 which, in turn, is determined by the length of the blank to be out.

As the wider portions of the blank pass under the chisel, the roller 42 rides on progressively higher portions of the cam 32 and, through the lu 4G and the projection 31 on the lever 38, raises the plate 35 which carries the actuating lever IE to raise the chisel and increase its impact on the blank, thereby insuring the production of grooves of uniform depth throughout the length of the blank.

With the adjustment set forth, the machine is capable of cutting blanks the widths of which vary within a given range. In order to adapt the machine to the cutting of blanks of widths which vary within a much wider range, I have so arranged the cam 32 that it can be exchanged for a cam of a different size and of a different shape without dismantling any other parts of the machine. This could not be done if the cam were geared or otherwise operatively connected to the chisel head directly, or if it were mounted on a shaft which carried other various parts where centerline positions of parts or center-to-center distances of various parts would be altered by a change in the size or shape of the cam.

Likewise, the adjustment plate 55 is so placed that it may be moved longitudinally of the slide, according to the length of the blade, without in any way disturbing the position or relation of any of the other parts.

It is to be noted that, as long as the machine is in operation, the chisel reciprocates continuously. In other words, the chisel is not stopped at the completion of a blank and restarted at the beginning of the cutting of the next blank.

This is due to the fact that the chisel, even in' its lowermost position, reciprocate's out of reach of the slide itself and becomes efiective only when a blank is placed on the slide and passed beneath the chisel. Since, at the completion of the cutting operation, the chisel is raised automatically by the preadjusted nose portion 59 of the plate 56, and since the chisel is held in its elevated position as long as the foot pedal is depressed and the end 68 of the lever 63 is raised, all the operator has to do is depress the foot lever to disengage the rollers 24 from the slide extension 23, pull the slide back to its starting position, remove the blank that has been cut, place a new blank to be cut, and release the foot pedal to return the chisel to its lower, cutting position and to cause the slide to be drawn past the lower edge of the chisel.

What I claim is:

1. A file cutting machine including a vertically reciprocable chisel, means for driving said chisel, a bedplate, a slide movable on said bedplate and adapted to support a blank to be cut, actuating means for moving said slide and said blank past the lower edge of said chisel in a plane normal to the direction of the movement of said chesel, a bevelled member projecting above and adjustably secured to said slide so as to coincide with a selected point of the blank at which the cutting of said blank is to cease, a pivoted lever having an inclined portion adapted to be engaged and raised by said bevelled member, when said slide and said bevelled member have moved past the lower end of said chisel to a predetermined extent, and a collar fixedly carried by said chisel and adapted to be engaged and raised by said lever to raise said chisel with respect to said blank.

2. A file cutting machine including a vertically reciprocable chisel, a vertically adjustable support for said chisel, means for driving said chisel, a bedplate, a slide movable on said bedplate and adapted to support a blank to be cut, actuating means for moving said slide and said blank past the lower edge of said chisel, a lever having one end thereof operatively connected to said support, a rotary cam, a roller riding on said cam, a rod carrying said roller and engaging the other end of said lever, whereby as said roller rides on a high portion of said cam, said support and said chisel are raised to increase the stroke of said chisel, and vice versa, and means for rotating said cam synchronously with the movement of said slide and said blank, said means including a stub shaft on one end of which said cam is mounted, and means operatively connecting only the other end of said shaft to said actuating means, whereby said cam may be removed from said end of said shaft and replaced by another cam without dismantlin any other part of the machine.

MARVIN A. HESS.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 319,218 Foss June 2, 1835 506,053 Lowe Oct. 3, 1893 975,236 Hess Nov. 8, 1910 42,216 Nicholson Apr. 5, 1864 44,633 Jeruis Oct. 11, 1864 531,251 Beche, Jr Dec. 18, 1894 600,570 Zenses Mar. 15, 1898 674,144 Weed May 14, 1901 1,465,434 Hess Aug, 21, 1923 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 98,737 German Dec. 3, 1897' 

